Happy New Year, Shepard
by Ms Morpheus
Summary: A silly bit of fluff set aboard the SR-1. Short and sweet. Happy holidays!


"Is this _really_ necessary, Shepard?" Wrex' expression was downright threatening, his ridged brow deeply furrowed and his wide mouth drawn out in a grimace. He was guardedly examining the shiny cone placed in his hand by a well-meaning ensign.

Difficult decisions were part of any commander's duty, and in most situations Shepard was content to let her training and her conscience be her guide. Looking at the three perplexed aliens, she was torn. Wrex, Garrus, and Tali were surrounded by a swarm of reveling Alliance crew. Only Liara was effortlessly mingling, perhaps due to her anthropologic expertise, or the asari's innate ability to endear herself to others. Human culture had long puzzled other civilizations, with its ritualistic behaviors, its relentless clinging to past customs that had long since lost their relevance. As much as Shepard could empathize with the aliens – she'd found herself confused beyond belief many times among other species, even inadvertently causing offense on occasion – neither could she deny that the Normandy's crew was almost entirely human, and to put a halt to the New Year's Eve celebration would be cruel.

"Just… go with it, Wrex. You might even enjoy yourself."

"Fine. But the next person to try to get me to put on a stupid hat gets a shotgun blast to the face."

"Suit yourself."

The krogan softened a bit as a pint of batarian ale found its way into his grasp. He grunted and resigned himself to endure yet another evening socializing with humans. Why they felt the need to take over the lower deck, _his_ territory, was beyond his ken and deeply irritating. At least this occasion seemed to encourage the consumption of a good quantity of alcohol, judging by the general mood of pleasant inebriation. Of course, if this were a krogan holiday, it wasn't officially a party until a good-natured brawl broke out and blood flowed as freely as the ryncol. Wrex cracked his knuckles and took a swig of cold ale as Shepard moved on to reassure Tali. Ever curious and analytical, the young quarian was trying to make sense of the occasion.

"Let me get this straight, Shepard. Humans first left Earth over 200 years ago. Most of you have never even _seen_ Earth. Why exactly is the completion of the Terran orbit around its Sun a cause for celebration?"

Shepard laughed. "We use pretty much any excuse to let loose and throw a party. It's good for morale." She pretended to take a sip of her drink, needing to keep up appearances but unwilling to let her guard down and risk making a fool of herself.

"There must be something more to it. I don't think I've ever seen the crew so… unhinged." Even the more straight-laced individuals were chatting, drinking, throwing their arms around one another and bursting into song at seemingly random intervals, hopelessly out of tune but full of enthusiasm.

"I'm not sure I'm the best one to ask. Back home, New Year's Eve was a time to celebrate having survived another year, and to take time to remember those who didn't." As if on cue, Alenko raised his glass and led a toast to honor Jenkins and Nihlus. Mercifully, this year's list was far shorter than she was used to. Somehow, the sense of loss was no less poignant.

After an appropriate silence had passed, she continued. "There is another meaning, maybe just as important. Each new year is a chance to start over, to forget the mistakes of the past and give yourself a clean slate. Anything you regret doing this year? Kiss it goodbye and move on."

"Your species is very generous, commander. Quarians don't let go of the past so easily, especially if their error affected others in the Fleet." She shuffled her feet. "I suppose there was the small matter of walking into Fist's clutches when I tried to contact the Shadow Broker."

"Consider it a learning experience, not a mistake. It led you here, didn't it?"

"Hmm. So it did." Shepard could swear she saw Tali's eyes twinkling underneath her mask. She was about to launch into a story about accidentally insulting the honor of an elcor's mother when she noticed Kaidan approaching from across the room. It was inevitable that the LT would track her down: she'd avoided telling Tali about the _other_ New Year's tradition, the one she'd been dreading. Why was it that she could rush into battle without hesitation, but the prospect of having an open discussion about emotions struck fear into her heart? Kaidan was her friend, almost a big brother to her: it wasn't that she disliked him, but their conversations lately left her feeling awkward and a little uneasy. Her current strategy of evasion would have to do, so she headed over to the turian lurking in the corner of the room.

"Garrus! Nice armor, by the way." He must have spent hours polishing his new gear to a flawless shine. He was always particular about maintaining his kit, but Shepard had no idea how much it meant to him to fit in among her crew. This was a very special occasion, they'd told him. To a turian, that meant full military dress. He was appalled to see many of the crew wearing civilian clothing, some of it quite revealing, and relieved when Shepard made her entrance in uniform. Garrus had been studying the crowd of revelers, the anxious tapping of his talon worrying a small dent into his metal cup.

"Thank you, commander. You'll be happy to know I've managed to get the Mako up and running again. Try to be a little gentler next time, okay?"

"Where's the fun in that? It takes serious skill to land upside-down in a crevice. Besides, what else would you do all day?" Sensing him bristle, she added more cues that she was teasing: smiling and jostling him with her elbow. Shepard was getting pretty good at reading the turian's body language: unfortunately her sarcasm and humor were often lost on him. _Always so serious_, she thought, wondering what he might be like if he ever learned to loosen up a bit.

"Oh. _Carp_. Thanks, commander." That did it: she started to giggle, her efforts to stifle her laughter only making it harder to control. It wasn't even that funny, but she'd been straining all night to maintain her decorum in front of the crew, not to mention making her avoidance of Alenko look unintentional. Garrus was undoubtedly offended, but his ridiculous expression, mandibles contorted in harangued bewilderment, made her break into a full belly laugh.

Gasping to catch her breath, she felt his posture stiffen as she put one hand affectionately on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Garrus. It isn't you. It's just… there's been a lot going on lately. Laughter is one way humans blow off steam."

"That and drinking, I've gathered." He gave what she took to be a derisive snort. "You're quite different from turians in that regard."

"Really?" She didn't get the chance to discuss the matter further: Liara had quietly wandered over, slowly sidling closer to the commander.

"Shepard? I wanted to apologize for what I said the other day. I never meant to offend you, I just wanted to get to know you better._"_

"I know, Liara. Don't worry, I'm glad to have you aboard."

With that, the asari bit her lip, her gaze shifting slightly downward. "I've been doing some research into your customs, and I was wondering whether you'd consider celebrating the New Year with me. It's only a few minutes away, after all." _A few minutes?_ Where had the night gone? She'd had every intention of slipping away before the countdown, making herself scarce instead of having to face her pursuers. Making matters worse, Alenko's dulcet voice chimed in behind her.

"Shepard? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Every instinct told her to run away: the knots in her stomach twisting and writhing, her nervous system demanding immediate fight or flight. It was all so bizarre, a comedy of errors where despite her best intentions everyone ended up hurt. Garrus was offended, Kaidan and Liara were about to be seriously let down, Tali felt alienated and alone, and Wrex was ornery at the world in general. Shepard was a formidable soldier but a hopeless diplomat. At least everyone else seemed to be having a good time.

The Alliance crew huddled around a display synchronized to Earth standard time as the final countdown to midnight began. Panicked, Shepard glanced quickly at Kaidan and Liara, both so sweetly nervous and eagerly expectant, both horribly misguided in their interpretation of her friendliness. Scant seconds remained; the countdown rang in her ears like a death knoll. She froze, feet planted firmly as she scrambled to make a decision. Kaidan? Liara? Kiss them both? Or just bolt for the elevator?

At the stroke of midnight, a hand clamped firmly down on her shoulder. She spun to face her rescuer, grateful to see anyone, really.

"Wrex?"

"Shepard." She couldn't help herself: she broke into a wide grin, then clenched her jaw, wrapped one arm around his cowl, leaned in close… and delivered a bone-crunching headbutt.

"You looked like you could use some reinforcements. Damn, I think I just cracked a plate." The krogan grinned back, teeth smeared with orange fluid.

"I put a little biotic kick in there, just for you." She looked back over her shoulder: Liara and Kaidan were still locked together in a tight embrace as Garrus and Tali disentangled themselves from an awkward hug. _Whew._

"Happy New Year, Shepard."

"Happy New Year, Wrex." Smiling as she watched her dysfunctional little family, she muttered under her breath. "Maybe this year won't be so bad after all."


End file.
